


Returning

by Marmeladeskies



Series: Three Antari get on a boat... (A Shades of Magic fic collection) [1]
Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gifts, I don't think I have any chill left, I'm not sure what this classifies as, Multi, antari, everyone is at least mostly alright, fluff...?, noone died, prompt was: Lila and Kell giving Holland a gift... and then this happened, slightly AU, travelling, you can see the Lila/Kell/Holland if you squint really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 18:16:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14478435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marmeladeskies/pseuds/Marmeladeskies
Summary: “Holland-”, Kell started, but Lila interrupted him.“Don’t be a coward.”-(written for a prompt which asked for "Kell and Lila giving Holland a gift". Got slightly out of hand.)





	Returning

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys. So, I finally finished the Shades of Magic trilogy, and not it's time to contribute to the fandom. Enjoy! If you want to prompt me, you can do it here in the comments or on my tumblr: marmelade-sky.tumblr.com

Kell and Lila had sailed every sea in the kingdom, and every sea beyond. They had soon passed Arnes’ borders, and Faro’s and a dozen others’, until home was so far away that it seemed like a different world. Maybe the knowledge that either of them could travel back in a matter of seconds with a drop of blood and a spell (even if it would have taken a enormous toll on Kell) soothed their minds and the homesickness. Or maybe it was just the reality of freedom, something both of them had fought for for so long. 

They met sailors and merchants, pirates and nobles, magicians and monsters. They lost men, gained men and lost them again. They ate strange food, some of which made them puke their guts out, some of which tasted so heavenly that Lila contemplated stealing recipes. They saw strange plants and stranger animals. They learned about languages and customs, and one particularly memorable night (which was later decided to not be spoken about ever again) was even spent dancing under the open sky, clothes mostly discarded, tendrils of smoke curling around them as a drum beat thrummed in time with their hearts.

And over time, something happened.

At first, Kell told himself it couldn’t be. 

After weeks, months, he told himself to forget about it, to avoid hurting himself with his useless hope.

 

But eventually, he couldn’t deny it anymore.

When they crossed the border to Vesk, he finally allowed himself to think it: it didn’t hurt anymore. It was like the hole ripped into his magic by Osaron had scarred over. It would never be the same again- but it didn’t pain him anymore, either. 

They returned two years and seven months after they had left. 

Lila had wanted to just dock and strut out into the streets of Arnes, but Kell had convinced her that sending a message first was the smarter choice. 

The closer they came to home, the more it seemed to hurt, as if all the homesickness was crashing in on Kell now, two years too late, as if seeing what he had left behind made it more obvious that he should have missed it a little more. 

He stood at the railing, looking out across the water where Arnes was waiting for them. 

Lila came to stand next to him, moving as silently as ever. Their hands met on the railing as her gaze followed his. They hadn’t spoken yet about what they were going to do once they arrived back in Red London. Kell couldn’t help but think that maybe, after years of being gone, coming back home was just another adventure. 

Even without help, the wind brought them smoothly back into the port of Arnes, the one they had left what felt like an eternity and, at the same time, a second ago. 

Kell couldn’t help the childish way his heart lurched when they were close enough to spot details on land- but his joy was quickly dampened by Lila’s groan and the reason for it: 

What seemed like a welcome committee expected them, dressed in gold and red with Arnes’ banners. Guards and priests, and, in the middle of it all... Rhy. Of course. And- of course- Alucard Emery.  
Kell immediately noticed that his dislike for the privateer turned Rhy’s “guard” (Kell refused to think of him as anything other than a pet) had not subsided.

As the ship docked, there was cheering, there were flowers, there was Lila rolling her eyes but still grinning as Alucard waved at her, and then, there was time standing still for a moment as Rhy and Kell met on the dock, Kell coming down the plank, Rhy meeting him halfway.  
Kell didn’t know what he expected- after all, Rhy was king now- but at that moment, formalities seemed to be forgotten. 

“Brother.” The gasp and a big smile threatened to split Rhy’s face in two, and then Kell was wrapped in the most royal bear hug he had ever received. 

-

 

“We need to go. Rhy will be pacing in impatience by now.”

“I’m ready.”

“And yet, you hesitate.”

“...do you think we can see him first?”

“Who?”

“You know.”

Lila worried at her bottom lip for a moment. Then she said: “...let Rhy pace for a little longer, then.” 

-

 

“You look pretty dead.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted for me?” Holland was propped up in bed by a mass of fluffy-looking pillows. His white hair and his brittle shape made him look like an old man, even if his face was still smooth and- somehow- beautiful. His startling green eyes looked more awake than his body made it seem. 

Lila didn’t answer immediately. There had been a time in which she would have wanted nothing more than to watch Holland die with one of her blades wedged between his ribs. But now?

Lila Bard didn’t forget.  
But Lila Bard asked herself if it was possible for her to forgive. At least to some extent. 

Kell stood by the foot end of Holland’s bed, one hand resting on the wood of the bed post. Him and Holland shared a look, long and intense in a way that only people who had gone through as much as they had could share. 

Eventually, it was Holland who, funnily enough, broke the silence. “So, how was the vacation?”

Lila snorted, and a trace of a smile tugged on Kell’s lips. 

“Did you bring me something back?”, Holland asked, voice still dripping with his old sarcasm. Hearing him speak like that, after everything that had happened, was... 

weirdly comforting. Because it meant that someone like Holland, who had gone through every hell of White and Red London, could still, at least partly, be himself. 

It was obvious that Holland hadn’t meant the question, because when Kell produced the small box from his coat pocket, his eyes widened for a split-second. 

Lila, unable to stand in one spot any longer, paced around the bed and leaned against the wall by the nearest window, taking out one of her knifes and using it to scrape dirt off her fingernails. 

Kell didn’t wait until Holland found his wits again. He snapped the box open, revealing a ring. 

Lila half-expected a sarcastic joke about proposals, but it seemed like every word had gotten stuck in Holland’s throat on the way up. 

The ring resembled the one they had found on the Ferase Stras, only it was a different color- a bright gold, almost rose-gold. 

“We found it somewhere far, far away.”, Kell answered Holland’s unasked question. Lila’s eyes darted up, wanting to see for herself how the former Antari would react.

“I won’t work.” Holland tore his gaze away from the ring. Lila could see how much strength it required. 

“We won’t know it until we try it.” 

Holland’s green eyes met Lila’s brown one. Of course he knew about Kell not having his full power anymore. They knew each other. They had shared... everything. The most important thing. And had lost parts of it together. 

Well, the two men had. 

Silently, Lila pushed herself away from the wall and made her way over to the bed. 

She held out her hand. 

Kell, without hesitation, dropped the ring into her palm and she pulled it apart, making it two, and then three. She kept one, the anker, handed one to Kell and then held out her hand with with third one for Holland to take. 

Holland just looked down at it incredulously. 

“Holland-”, Kell started, but Lila interrupted him.

“Don’t be a coward.”

The former Antari seemed to startle out of his thoughts, and with a defiant gaze at Lila, slowly lifted his hand. The skin around its bones looked like parchment as his fingers closed around it. 

“Ready?”

Lila looked to Kell, whose blue eye reminded her of the sea they had sailed together. Then she looked at Holland, who still looked defiant. He’ll never stop fighting, she thought, even if he tried to. 

At the same time, three identical rings glinted in the sunlight filtering through the dusty window as they were being pushed over three sets of knuckles.


End file.
